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Thought I'd throw in a different sort topic for us to discuss.

Who has thoughts?

Ahem........well, I'm a school teacher.....so of course I've never inhaled:) Legalizing pot is a tough one as the issue is so divisive. However, pot can ease the suffering of patients with chronic pain. I think that pot is a drug like alcohol. It should be regulated, legalized. This would get rid of the criminal element.

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Hey guys, as most of you know was a Drug agent for 23 yrs. I have seen way to many kids, i am talking 10 yrs and up on pot. Most said it made them brave and fearless. I am afraid if its legal there would be more on it. Just take a little from mom or dads medicine cabinet.

Thats my 2 cents.

Chuck

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Hey guys, as most of you know was a Drug agent for 23 yrs. I have seen way to many kids, i am talking 10 yrs and up on pot. Most said it made them brave and fearless. I am afraid if its legal there would be more on it. Just take a little from mom or dads medicine cabinet.

Thats my 2 cents.

Chuck

Words of wisdom!!!
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I don't think if somebody smokes weed they should go to jail. I don't see it as a crime that is punishable by prison time. If you are just using it for your own personal use that shouldn't be a crime.

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Cali has a huge problem, shared by other states/provinces/other, with illegal 'gardens' growing everywhere in the woods. Confrontations with armed 'thugs' is always a possibility if one blithely walks into wooded areas.

In a discussion I had with a fellow church member not too long ago we discussed the idea of training deer, who have roaming privileges everywhere, to seek out and devour the 'crops' when chanced upon.

We quickly realized, however, we'd have an even bigger problem with the deer accosting people, or breaking into homes, looking for munchies...

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I don't think if somebody smokes weed they should go to jail. I don't see it as a crime that is punishable by prison time. If you are just using it for your own personal use that shouldn't be a crime.

I agree that possession of small amounts should not send anyone to prison (and the amount that DOES automatically send you to prison is set ridiculously small). I don't agree that there IS such a thing as "personal use" since, unless everyone who wants some is capable of growing exactly the amount they need, no more, no less, other people MUST be involved. Anyway, as I already said, we don't need additional intoxicating drugs to be readily available, no matter how it's done.

Edited by JDoors
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Every argument I've heard "for" has been weak, self-serving, and quite easily refuted.

At least there are arguments for legalization.

And they are all weak, self-serving and easily refuted.

Semi-related, a "vegetarian" cooking show I've seen a few times uses Hemp seeds in almost everything. No point, I just thought it was interesting. :)

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I think the core argument for legalization, the 'presumption of liberty', is essentially irrefutable in the US.

What liberty? Legal retail drugs are HIGHLY regulated. Where's your freedom there? There are tens of thousands of restrictions on your Second Amendment Rights already and yet, we just elected the most vehemently anti-Second Amendment President in history. Where's your freedom there? People apparently don't want liberty; they want the government to tell everybody what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.

"I should be free to do whatever I want regardless of the consequences to myself or others" isn't an argument, it's a philosophy.

-----

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.

--George Bernard Shaw

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The right to form a well-regulated militia fits into this how, exactly?

You can quote anything out of context to fit your bias I guess.

It's obvious what J was saying.

The same group that wants legalization of certain controlled substances would (generally) never think of lifting gun control laws. You can't have your cake and eat it too. No one wants liberty, they want to get high and not worry about the consequences.

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The same group that wants legalization of certain controlled substances would (generally) never think of lifting gun control laws.
I don't think that's a very fair statement.

Anyway... gun control and constitutional rights are a completely different topic.

In my opinion, marijuana really isn't something as terrible as the reputation. Alcohol and Tobacco are much worse and kill much more easily. But so many people think that marijuana is this awful substance. There aren't enough open supporters to initiate a change in policy and no politician will ever put their career on the line to support it. I think it should be legal, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

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The right to form a well-regulated militia fits into this how, exactly?

If you knew history and the reason that was worded that way you wouldn't be asking that, but the Second Amendment per se wasn't my point anyway. I could just as well have used the First Amendment and restrictions on that, such as public safety and libel laws, to make my point. And the point is, we give up a lot of our liberties for a lot of reasons. Liberty does not mean doing whatever you want regardless of the consequences.

-----

Edited by JDoors
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... In my opinion, marijuana really isn't something as terrible as the reputation. Alcohol and Tobacco are much worse and kill much more easily. But so many people think that marijuana is this awful substance. ...

We don't know that though. What if the same number of people who smoke and/or drink smoked marijuana? What if even MORE people took it up? Like alcohol and tobacco, the evidence is in, and like alcohol and tobacco, people who support the use of the product simply pretend that evidence doesn't count or doesn't apply to them.

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I personally think all drugs should be legalized. Drug prohibition causes much more harm then good. Keep in mind i was a daily drug user from the age fo 14 till I was 28. The last 7 years of my drug addiction, I was an IV drug addict, mainly METH(I still have all my teeth :-) ). To support my habit, I started selling them at the age of 15 till I cleaned up. I have been clean and sober with the help of AA for the last 8 years. I may have a different perspective then a lot of people.

Legal or illegal is not going to make a difference. If you are inclined to use them you will. All the money we waste on enforcement could be spent on education and treatment. Instead we waste billions on prohibition

This article has lots of good points

http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/gen/10758pub19950106.html

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At last a reasonable response, Shanenin. If you add up the costs of the DEA, state and local enforcement, courts, jails and harm to families, it's immense. DrugSense

In states with a 3 strike law, folks are doing life for marijuana possession. While people convicted of some sort of murder do only months at times. The cost of incarceration is another addition to the tally. Also no one thinks about the murder and mayhem caused by all the cash to be made. Cash that is not taxed.

I say legalize it all, control it, tax it, send the DEA to Homeland Security for control of illegals entering our country, and let the weak blow their minds out if they choose. Just like with alcohol. There will always be the same balance of recreational users, abusers, and the hopelessly addicted, be it booze, drugs or even sex. Better they be in a hospital or program then in prison.

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Yes, i agree. lets make all drugs legal.

Lets not care if the teens use it.

Lets not care if the babies whose moms were users cry all night.

Lets not care if users are so high they rob and kill.

Lets not care if society goes to hell.

Free drugs for all !

And i have seen it all, even had a daughter who used Meth amongst other drugs (clean 14yrs now)

You try holding a 13 yr old girl in your arms while she dies from an over dose and let me hear you say Legalize Drugs. :thumbsup:

Chuck

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At last a reasonable response, Shanenin. ... There will always be the same balance of recreational users, abusers, and the hopelessly addicted, be it booze, drugs or even sex. Better they be in a hospital or program then in prison.

Reasonable, meaning they agree with you? ;)

Again, we can't KNOW that it won't be any more problematic than the current mess that comes with alcohol and tobacco addictions (how much does that cost society?), but let's pretend we know, and, at it's worst, it's exactly equal. I would still say there is no reason to ADD to the addictive, psychoactive drugs already available to the public.

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Again, we can't KNOW that it won't be any more problematic than the current mess that comes with alcohol and tobacco addictions (how much does that cost society?), but let's pretend we know, and, at it's worst, it's exactly equal. I would still say there is no reason to ADD to the addictive, psychoactive drugs already available to the public.

I can think of one reason to legalize some drugs like marijuana. People will use pot whether it is legal or not. At the present time pot is illegal which means the people selling it are criminals: pushers, gang bangers, bikers, mafia, etc. Drug profits are huge and this sets up drug wars between rival criminal factions. People get caught in the cross fire. If some drugs (pot) were regulated for purity and the distribution was limited to adults this might remove some of the criminal elements in the drug scene.

However, I can see no reason to legalize some drugs like methamphetamine.

Many people claim that pot has no negative effects. Pot is a drug like alcohol and it does have harmful side effects (lung cancer).

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All drugs, including alcohol kill. Why does it make sense to throw Meth users in prison, but not throw alcoholics and others drug pot users in prison. Meth and cocaine are horribly addicting drugs, but it still makes more sense to treat hard-drug addicts as people with a medical condition(this is how we treat alcoholics) then a criminal. The sad thing is we have to let violent offenders out of prison early to make room for non-violent drug offenders like me. I have many good friends who have good hearts who can't stop using drugs, who are now serving many years in prison. What a horrible waste of a life. It makes me sick to see good people locked up with sociopaths.

Save the billions of dollars spent on criminalizing drugs and use this to help addicts. Imagine if the billions spent on prisons and all the other costs associated with prohibition were used to educate and treat addicts like we do every other medial conditional. Believe it or not, this may actually help the problem. I don't want anyone to use drugs, especially children(I have three), but I know creating a huge criminal empire and putting good people in prison is not helping anyone.

The system does not work. People need to look at at with rationality instead of fear.

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Chuck, all of that is happening now! The cash spent on the "Drug War" has done nothing to stop the use/abuse. It makes all of it "seedier" and more dangerous, with low-life's dealing and unknown content. Just like prohibition did nothing but make entrepreneurs rich.

Stopping the cash flow of the gun toting dealers will put a stop to much bloodshed. Take that money and spend it wisely on education, treatment and programs that work.

I truly believe the worst drugs (meth, etc.) would quickly go away if cannabis, opiates and speed were legalized, and taxing them would add to programs designed to educate and treat. Lets train more counselors and less cops.

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